Who was St. Andrew?

St Andrew on the magnificent wrought iron gates of the Palace of Holyrood, EdinburghAccording to legend, an angel told a monk, St. Rule (Regulus), in a dream to move the bones of St. Andrew from Constantinople to “the ends of the earth”. He did so, removing a tooth, arm bone, knee cap and some fingers, and headed towards Scotland.

He shipwrecked off the east coast of Scotland, and built a chapel in a Pictish settlement to house the relics. This settlement later became known as St. Andrews. The chapel was replaced by the Cathedral of St. Andrew in 1160, and St. Andrews became the religious capital of Scotland.